15 Calais migrants killed trying to enter UK

Migrants walk on a ridge above a road where lorries pass as they wait to jump on to trucks which make their way to the ferry terminal in Calais (Reuters / Pascal Rossignol) / Reuters

At least 15 migrants have been killed this year trying to enter Britain through the French port city of Calais it was revealed on Tuesday, with four migrants dying in just one week.

The figures, calculated by the Guardian, found that among the
deceased were young families who were living in makeshift camps
without proper sanitation or running water.

The figures provoked
warnings from the European director of the UN Human Rights
Commission, who warned that more people would die in the camps
during the cold winter months.

“The conditions are totally unacceptable and are not
consistent with the kind of values that a democratic society
should have,” the UNHRC’s Vincent Cochetel told the
Guardian.

“This is a shameful situation to witness in the heart of the
European Union.”

While the French authorities do not keep official figures of the
number of deceased refugees, local charities estimate that around
15 migrants have died in the past 12 months. Many of the deaths
were caused as migrants attempted to board moving vehicles
heading toward the UK.

Cochetel also warned that conditions in the refugee camps were
becoming as bad as those in Turkey, where refugees from war-torn
Syria are heading.

“You will have people dying of cold and even more desperate
people taking even more risks,” he said.

“Some of the people there are becoming so tired and desperate
that they are ready to do very dangerous things.”

Earlier this year, the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, warned
that more than 2,500 migrants were “willing to die” to
come to the UK, and that many saw it as an ‘El Dorado’ filled
with jobs and opportunities.

Bouchart also said Britain was an attractive destination to
migrants because of a ‘favorable’ benefits system, although
British authorities criticized this claim.

The Guardian investigation also found that more female migrants
were arriving in Calais, many escaping sexual abuse and
exploitation

As part of the investigation, the Guardian interviewed a number
of migrants currently in Calais. One 23-year-old, Mohamed, said
he left his home in Gaza as a result of war and conflict.

“I had no choice but to leave and try and find something
better,” he told reporters.

“Our house was destroyed … we had nothing, I just wanted to
feel one moment of safety, one moment when I am not cold, when I
am not treated like an insect.”

It is estimated that around 3,000 migrants are caught attempting
to enter the UK illegally each month, and that UK border forces
were using extreme methods, including sniffer dogs, tear gas and
infra-red scanning of lorries.